


If you need me, I'll be there

by Mimisempai



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s15e06 October Surprise, M/M, Rafael past relationship, Sonny is already in the squad in the season 15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25464625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mimisempai/pseuds/Mimisempai
Summary: Rafael goes through a lot of turmoil when his childhood friend and ex-lover finds himself in the middle of a case of adultery and corruption.Can the presence of his colleague and friend help him get through the turmoil?Revisiting "October Surprise" with Sonny in the squad.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41
Collections: Barisi Summer Exchange 2020





	If you need me, I'll be there

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xzael](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xzael/gifts).



Rafael was tidying up his office when he heard knocking at the door. He turned around and saw his childhood friend Alejandro Muñoz, the candidate for mayor of New York City, come in.

"Yes, here he is! My brother from Jerome Avenue, still as classy as ever! How are you, Rafael?" Alejandro spouted all this while hugging and greeting him.

"All right" said Rafael, "you look great Mr. Mayor."

"Not yet," replied Alejandro, "to become one, I need your voice."

"Did you come here to make sure you have it?"

"I was in the neighborhood for a conference, so I thought I'd stop by for coffee."

"I've already had four,” replied Rafael, “but I'll get you one right away."

"Do you have any Cuban coffee?" Alejandro joked. A the sight Rafael's eye roll, he added "Okay, fine, I'll have what you have here."

After Carmen went to get coffee, Alejandro calmed down a little and said more softly: "I'm sorry, I know you're busy, but..." He went to close the door and said, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Yes, of course," said Rafael.

"It's about Eddie..."

A few moments later, Rafael closed the door on his childhood friend, still a little unsettled by what he had just learned. 

Alex told him their other childhood friend, Eddie, had apparently assaulted his girlfriend who wanted to break up with him. 

Alejandro, in the name of their friendship, had asked Rafael if he could do something about it.

A little later, after asking Olivia for the case’s details, he entered the precinct. Without bothering to greet anyone, he went directly to the interrogation room where Eddie was.

He stood behind the two-way mirror watching Eddie defend himself and explain the situation to Detectives Tutuola and Rollins.

"Rafael?" Sonny had just walked in. "I didn't see you come in."

"I preferred to be discreet," replied Rafael

"This case is a little too light to interest you, right?" Sonny asked him.

Rafael turned to him: "Let's say I have some interest in it." He continued, "Shall we go somewhere else?"

Sonny gauged him with his eyes, trying to see what was wrong with him, and then answered : "Let me tell Olivia and I'll go with you."

Waiting for him, Rafael remembered that when Sonny started at SVU, he found the younger detective a bit annoying, always wanting to give his opinion and show off his knowledge.

However, Rafael soon realized that his knowledge was solid, and that what at first glance could be mistaken for a "you-know-what" was just passionate enthusiasm.

He now appreciated the eyes of the law-abiding detective on his cases, and sometimes even looked forward to their discussions about the law over a drink or a coffee, depending on the time of day.

If it happened in the evening, they could stay for hours discussing a twisted point in the law, and how to turn it to their advantage. Rafael was sure Sonny would make a great lawyer. Looking at his progress, he really felt like he was watching coal being turned into diamond. And there was something exhilarating about it. And he couldn't deny that the young detective was somewhat endearing.

A few moments later, they were in the café, in their usual alcove...

"So Alex Muñoz, the mayoral candidate, called you in on this case?" Sonny asked him after hearing Rafael's story. 

"Alex is a childhood friend, we grew up together," Rafael answered.

It was the first time Sonny had seen him hesitate like that. Maybe he was embarrassed to talk about personal things. Sonny was happy to learn more about the lawyer though. He liked the way they had gotten closer lately and secretly hoped they would continue to do so. 

For now he was content to enjoy every moment with him.

Rafael told him about his childhood with Alex and Eddie, the "3 Musketeers" as they were called. Alex the sensitive one, Rafael the loudmouth and Eddie the strong one who looked after them. 

He became a little more hesitant when he said that he had lost sight of them after leaving the Bronx and that Alex had studied law at Fordham.

"Fordham? Wait... he's the reason you're always making fun of my night school there?"

"A little bit, Sonny, a little bit, and for other reasons, but let's leave that out, shall we?" Rafael replied.

He went on, proudly recounting that Alex had almost single-handedly saved the neighborhood and that Eddie had finally gotten a job at Rikers.

"From what you're telling me, Eddie's being a bit of a driver and handyman for Alex. So who's he trying to protect, himself or Eddie?" Sonny asked him nicely.

Rafael couldn't help but admire Sonny's spirit of deduction. Straight to the point without stopping for detours He appreciated this quality in the young detective. No convolutions, what had to be said was straightforward. For him, who used to make his way through the murky waters and control every word, it was a breath of fresh air.

He replied just as directly after taking a deep breath: "Both."

He went on to explain that Eddie was a good person and described his qualities. Sonny stopped him by saying that this was no excuse for attempted rape. Rafael responded by saying that if appearances were deceiving, it was worth looking into.

Sonny took time to think for a moment and just nodded. "All right, Rafael, I'll talk to Olivia."

"Thank you, Sonny."

Olivia understood the delicacy of the case and agreed to pursue the investigation further. 

After seeing the victim, Olivia and Sonny sensed something was wrong. The victim seemed to be lying and finally recanting. She went so far as to finally defend her alleged attacker.

Since Rafael's office was between the victim's home and the precinct, Sonny agreed with Olivia that he would go to the ADA to report the interview.

"She said he went into that girl's store with his wife? Not likely. He hasn't seen her in three years. She's in Miami."

"Are you sure?" Sonny asked, "He's still wearing his wedding ring."

"Yes, I'm sure. Eddie's... is Catholic. Faithful. I am sure the girl saw his wedding ring and she had to make up a story."

"Yes," Sonny said, "and she made it clear very quickly that she'd be more comfortable alone with me."

"Of course," Rafael replied dryly, "because she's better at leading when it's a man." And he continued, "She lied and manipulated you-

"Just like Eddie" cut Sonny...

"I know Eddie's past, you should rather look into the girl's past," Rafael replied in an uncompromising tone.

Sonny, however, didn't let himself be taken in. Leaning over to the lawyer and touching his arm lightly, he said: "Rafael, you know you can talk to me anytime you want."

Rafael stared at Sonny's hand on his arm, raised his head, looked the younger detective in the eyes and nodded: "Thank you."

Sonny nodded back, took his hand away and left Rafael's office.

After a few days of investigation, they discovered that the girl was a scammer who extorted money from wealthy men she was sleeping with. All of this confirmed Rafael's theory. 

But Nick, with his habit of questioning everything, noticed that Eddie was not in the same financial category as the other men, and theorized that he was just a scapegoat and that the girl had wanted to lure a bigger game: Alex Muñoz.

Sonny and Nick went to inform Rafael of the new turn the investigation was taking, and even though the ADA seemed to be on the defensive, he told them in the end to keep doing their job. As he said this, he looked Sonny deep in the eyes as if he wanted to convince him of his sincerity.

As Nick was leaving and he walked out the door, Sonny quickly turned around and murmured in Rafael's ear: "My offer still stands, it has no expiration date and no specific time frame.You know my contacts"

“I'll think about it, detective."

During their further investigations, the victim had completely disappeared. When they tried to confront Alex Muñoz, good politician that he was, he managed to dismantle all their questions. Finally, they learnt that the girl was on her way to Israel, to a consulting job in Tel Aviv.

All doors were closing in front of them. And Rafael was finding it harder and harder to defend his friend. Amaro even went so far as to ask him to recuse himself. But Rafael said he had to continue at the request of the prosecutor. And in spite of the detective’s disparaging remarks, he stuck to his guns and asked them to do their job no matter what. 

No longer after that, one evening when he had stayed late at the office, Rafael received an unexpected visit. Yelina, Alex's wife, whom he had also known since childhood.

"Hi handsome, I'm not disturbing you?" she asked him as she entered his office, with a smile on her face.

“No, never," Rafael replied to her as he stood up. Then he hugged her: "It's been so long, you look amazing."

"You tell me that every time," she replied, giggling until her laughter died down, giving way to a meaningful silence.

"What's going on?" Rafael asked her.

"You tell me." She walked towards him with her face closed: "Some detectives came to talk to Alex earlier."

"Did he ask you to come?"

"No, he didn't want to talk about it, and he doesn't know I'm here."

"Then let's not talk about it," Rafael replied softly with a sigh.

"Rafael, you're his oldest friend. Do I need to worry, just tell me."

"Yelina, I really can't talk to you about this." Rafael answered.

"I'm not an idiot," she replied virulently, “my husband is accomplishing something great for all of us. Please don't ruin it for all of us.”

Rafael came closer with half a smile on his lips: "If he has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to worry about."

"So that's how it is?" Yelina walked around him, heading for the door.

"One last question." Then she turned to Rafael. "Does this have anything to do with you and Alex, what you've been to each other?"

Which Rafael didn't answer. Watching her leave, he picked up his phone and sent a message.

_\- Sonny, does the offer still stand?_

_-Yes, but unfortunately, not yet. We found out something about Alex._

_-What?!_

_-Why don't you come join us, we'll wait for you to get started._

_-I'll be there in ten minutes._

Ten minutes later, he met them in the conference room. Rollins was sitting in front of a laptop and the others standing around. 

"What have you got?" Rafael asked them as he closed the door.

He stood behind Rollins next to Sonny.

"We figured that since the scammer was selecting her prey on the Internet, she did the same with Alex Muñoz," Amaro replied.

Amanda continued: "I created an ‘I heart Alex Muñoz’ page and he sent me a message in less than half an hour. I hung it with a few provocative sentences and as you can see he asked me for a picture and asked me to go to a slightly more discreet site: PleasureWithoutConscience.com".

Rafael was feeling worse and worse with the turn of events. And as if Sonny had sensed it, he seemed to get closer to him.

Rafael asked fearing the answer: "An adulterous site? Does Alex have an account on it?"

"Not by his real name," replied Amanda, "but his alter-ego does," showing him the profile on the site.

"Enrique Trouble?" Rafael read back slowly. "No, but no, wait, this can't be true."

"He asked me for a picture," continued Amanda. "So I sent him a slightly naked one."

"Did he answer?" Rafael asked, hoping deep down that the answer would be negative.

"Not yet, that's why I asked him for a picture in exchange."

“Don't dream too much, right now he's at a fundraiser with his wife and daughter. Not to mention we're only 10 days away from the election." Rafael knew he was just hanging on to the branches, refusing the reality that would hit him. 

"I have an answer," said Rollins, and Nick saw the picture and said, "He's at a fundraiser, you said? That looks like a tuxedo belt, doesn't it?"

Sonny, who surprisingly hadn't said anything from the beginning, cut out, "You can't see the face, it could be anybody."

"I'm going to ask for another picture."

Rafael held his breath, and felt Sonny get even closer, as if he wanted to show his support. 

After a few seconds of tense silence that seemed like an eternity, the two consecutive "dings" sounded deafening to Rafael's ears. He leaned forward, barely hearing the shocked exclamations of the other people in the room, to see for himself that the photo he had sent was unequivocal.

  
Sonny stepped in again and naively said, "There's still no clear identification of his face."

"He's not wrong," Olivia agreed.

"I can confirm it's him." Rafael said, trying to remain stoic. "He has a mole on his right thigh."

"Oh, and how do you know that?" Nick said provocatively.

Rafael replied, not showing his dismay: "We were childhood friends, detective, how many times do you think we went to the pool together?"

Amaro seemed to believe it. But Rafael didn't dare cross Sonny's gaze, the young inspector was far too farsighted for his own good. 

Rafael had to leave, he was suffocating, he took his coat and left the room. He heard his name vaguely in the distance, but continued on his way. He went home and fell asleep on his couch after having emptied three-quarters of a bottle of whisky.

The next morning, numb from what he had drunk the day before, he picked up his phone and seeing that he had received a message from Sonny, his heart skipped a beat.. He pressed to read the message.

_-Just a reminder, no need for an answer: the offer still stands, anywhere, anytime._

He was so eager to take advantage of this offer, but he had to do something first. He wrote a message

_-Alex, we need to meet._

Then he showered, got dressed and had a quick coffee and headed for his office. He received an answer from Alex who asked him to meet him at a nearby café.

A few moments later, they were sitting opposite each other.

Rafael simply handed him the phone with the photos of the private chat on the screen.

"Oh my God, this is terrible." Alex threw the phone away, "Someone set me up."

Rafael felt as if he was sinking even deeper. But he gave him one last chance: "That's why I wanted to see you, to get an explanation."

"You don't think I did it?"

"Did someone else have fun sending pictures of your penis?"

Alex looked offended. "I wouldn't even dignify that with a response."

"Alejandro, take a good look at me," Rafael told him firmly, "right now I'm talking to you as a friend, tell me the truth."

Alex had the nerve to deny it again. "It’s a fraud."

Rafael felt filled with bottomless disappointment.

"First of all, you know very well that I can see it's you. Second, I can totally ask I.T. to take care of these photos."

Alex got nervous "No, I've got my own team, it's fine." Then he took a begging tone: "Rafael, how can you believe this? Wall street obviously wants to keep me out of City Hall."

Rafael sighed slightly and said slowly, hammering every word, "Alex, you have to be honest with me." He paused. "and with yourself. You came to me and asked me for help about Eddie."

"Because he's my friend, and he's your friend, too," Alex tried to protest.

Rafael cut him off: "Didn't you ask him to go to the girl to shut her up?"

"That's enough!" Alex stood up: "I have no time for this!"

As the candidate walked away, Rafael said in a loud voice: "It stinks Alex, it’s stinks very bad”

Alex retraced his steps and said dismissively, "For whom? For you? Hm? Since when do you judge me? Are you my priest? How many Hail Marys, Father?"

Rafael, feeling like he'd been hit in the heart, calmly replied, "I don't know if you realize the countless risks I took for you. Just for talking to you, I could lose my job."

There was a long silence and Rafael said, "Tell me there are no other women involved."

Alex leaned over and looked him hard in the eye, "Yelina is the one and only. Even if it's still painful for you."

And he walked away.

Rafael stayed there for a long time, staring blankly into the void. Crushed by the knowledge of having lost his childhood friend and ex-lover.

Coming to his senses, he decided to go and report his interview to the precinct.

Amaro was particularly enraged at him because he had spoken to Muñoz without them and unofficially.

Sonny, still did not intervene, but stood on his side, showing him mute support. Rafael, lacking a few allies at the moment, felt comforted by this gesture.

Having given all the information to the detective, he walked to the elevator, wondering if the day would continue to get worse like this. 

Sonny slipped into the elevator just as the doors were closing. 

"What, detective? You want to lecture me too?" Rafael asked him ironically.

"Me? No? I came to persuade you to take advantage of my offer immediately. How about a coffee at the usual place?" Sonny asked quietly with his usual smile. 

Rafael didn't feel the strength to refuse and even let himself be completely guided by the young detective. So they found themselves in their usual alcove.

Once settled in, Sonny leaned over to Rafael and put his hand on his forearm: "We can just not talk or talk about whatever you want. It's up to you. I'm just here to listen, even to your silence."

Rafael felt helpless in the face of so much free kindness. He was always reluctant to talk about himself, to confide in others, he suddenly felt like unpacking everything.

If he was honest with himself - which was rarely the case - he appreciated Sonny's presence more than he should.

This made him a little hesitant to give himself up, because he didn't want to lose his friendship and the possibility of something more serious.

When he didn't answer, Sonny withdrew his hand and moved back a little to his chair while continuing to stare at him with his clear eyes.

"I...I'm not sure where to begin and honestly, I'm afraid what I'm about to tell you will change your opinion of me." 

Sonny leaned over to him again, catching his eye and resting his hand on his arm again. 

"Rafael, I'm sure nothing you're about to say will change my mind. And if it concerns your relationship with Muñoz, I won't judge you."

Rafael looked shocked: "What? You know?"

"Rafael, I wasn't born yesterday, and even though I didn't take too much part in the investigation, I have noticed some things," Sonny replied softly.

Rafael took a sip of coffee, almost burning his throat, but the heat had nothing to do with the warmth of Sonny's hand on his arm. And he tapped into that heat to give himself the courage to talk.

“A... Alex and I dated when we were in high school. He was my first male love. So I loved him with all my heart, at least that's what I thought love was at the time," Rafael said, shaking his head as if to mock himself.

"Rafael, no matter how old you were or what you learned in the meantime. You loved and your love was or is perfectly legitimate," Sonny commented.

"Thank you, and you can put it in the past tense. A few days ago he was still a friend, but even that is also in the past," Rafael continued disillusioned. "So we went out for a few months, but we broke up very quickly, he told me that he preferred to stay friends and some time later he started going out with Yelina. And it wasn't long before I got into Harvard."

Sonny slid his hand up to his wrist and left it there still, waiting for Rafael to continue his story.

"You know, if I refused to go after Alex, it wasn't out of friendship or love, and I'm not doing it for me either. I'm not afraid to take it out on him. But I do feel bad for him, because while he was sitting in his corner, in the slums, being a Good Samaritan, I got into Harvard and I thought I was a big shot."

"Yeah, but Rafael," Sonny cut him off, "I know you well enough by now. You know where you're from, and Alex does, too. He actually wants you to feel bad and repent. He knows you well enough to know which buttons to push. I guess he even tried to make you think you wanted revenge for his relationship with Yelina, didn't he?" 

Once again surprised by Sonny's lucidity, Rafael could only nod his head. "It was even the last thing he said before he left."

"Don't let him get the upper hand on you, Rafael. Yeah, you were a little lenient at first, but you still told us to do our job. You didn't stand in our way. It's true that I honestly think it would be better if you recused yourself..."sat

Rafael protested, "But the proc-"

"Yes, I know the D.A. wants you to take this case. But I also know that if you really didn't want to, you wouldn't. So I'm not going to insist. You will make the right decision at the right time. I'm sure."

At that moment Rafael breathed out a big sigh of relief, since the beginning of this case he felt so alone, didn't know who to confide in. And Sonny offered him this understanding without limits and above all without judgment. 

This time it was Rafael who moved his arm slightly and turned his hand over. Sonny didn't hesitate and closed his hand on his own, looking him in the eyes once again. Rafael also closed his hand and simply nodded his head in thanks.

They sat for a long time in silence, just looking at each other. 

After a few minutes, Sonny loosened his fingers and slowly withdrew his hand. Rafael immediately missed it. This made him realize the degree of intimacy they had just shared. And he was a little unsure of what to do next.

Sonny, as if he'd felt his hesitation, began to speak: 

"Rafael, everything that's happened here, you can choose to do with it what you want. You can come back to work, and we can pretend it never happened, it will remain a moment of comfort between colleagues. And we can move on. Or, we can look at it as a starting point for something stronger. While it's true that I do feel something for you, I want you to know there's no pressure from me. Not one way or the other."

He paused for a moment before continuing

I'm just asking you to be honest with me. If you'd rather we just stick to our camaraderie, then that's what we'll do and we'll never talk about it again."

Rafael couldn't even understand how a sordid affair like Alex's brought him something so precious. But he didn't want to taint his potential nascent history with Sonny with it, so he replied, while seeking the touch of Sonny's hand.

"Sonny, first of all, I want you to know that I don't intend to act as if nothing had happened. However, I don't want what might be between us to start in the middle of this case. So I'm just asking for your patience until this case is settled and out of my hands. I need to close this chapter completely so that I can open a new one with you. Do you understand?" Rafael asked him, afraid of asking too much.

Sonny simply placed his other hand over their joined hands and said: 

"Take all the time you need. If it's alright with you, I'd like to ask Olivia, just to be back up on this case. I'd like to be able to support you without it becoming a loophole in the eventuality of a future trial."

Rafael was completely stunned by Sonny's generosity and couldn't resist the spur of the moment. He put his hand behind Sonny's head, drawing him to himself, bent forward and put a quick, light kiss on Sonny's lips, which he immediately gave back to him. As if to seal the unspoken promise of more to come once the affair was behind them.

  
  


At this moment Rafael's phone started to vibrate. He let go of Sonny's hand to read the message.

- _New information. Come at the precinct as soon as possible._

That was Liv. He relayed the message to Sonny. They got up quickly and set off for the precinct.

There, they learnt that the others had discovered that there was more than one girl, and each time Alex sent Eddie to shut them up with money or well-paying jobs.

They made it clear to Rafael that they needed him to talk to Eddie and convince him to testify against Alex.

Rafael called Eddie's mother, who told him that Eddie was at the playground in their old neighborhood.

On the way there, he picked up his phone and wrote a message:

_-Sonny, I'm going to see Eddie to try and convince him._

The answer was not long in coming.

_-Are you gonna be alright?_

_-Yeah, I know Eddie pretty well. Even though he has made some bad decisions, he is a good person._

_-Okay. If you want to talk afterwards, I'll wait for you at the usual place. Just text me and let me know if you're joining me or not._

_-Thanks, Sonny._

_-Good luck with that._

By the time he got to the playground, Eddie was sitting on a bench.

When he heard Rafael approaching, he turned around and said, "Heyyyy Rafael."

He stood up and hugged him: "What's up, buddy?"

"How are you ?"

"I'm all right."

Sitting on the bench, Rafael looked around him and his whole childhood went down his throat. All the memories of the "Three Musketeers" came back into his head. Nostalgia overwhelmed him.

He turned to Eddie and said, "We have to talk."

Eddie pointed to the playground and said, "Did you see that? It's safer than when we were kids, isn't it?"

"That's right." Rafael said. "You always made sure I didn't get hurt."

He continued: "Yeah, like the time the kids at school next door tried to steal my lunch. You put your arm on my shoulder and we both walked away. You said if anyone bothered me, they'd have to deal with you."

"You're my brother Rafael, if it wasn't for you, I would've spoken Spanish my whole life." Eddie says smiling. "We're brothers."

"I know." Rafael paused. 

"You are faithful. Even too faithful sometimes."

"I don't think we're really talking about your lunch anymore... so how screwed am I with Rafael?" Eddie asked, turning to him.

Rafael sighed loudly: "Bribery, corruption, those are serious crimes."

"No, there's... there's no way I'm betraying Alex. I can't-"

Rafael cut him off: "What you have to do is think about yourself. If you go to prison, they won't be gentle with a former guard."

"Rafael, Alex has always been there for me. He told me that when he was mayor, he'd have a great job for me in the police force."

Rafael cut him off again: "Eddie, listen to me please! He's only looking after himself now. And you have to take care of your mother and your son. If you go to jail, what will they do?"

"I don't want to hurt him.”

"Yes, I know. I know.”

"You tell me what I have to do. You've always been the brains."

"Go testify”. He patted him on the back. They looked at each other for a long time, then Rafael stood up, and as he walked away, he felt as if he was saying goodbye forever to his childhood. 

After a few steps, he picked up his phone and called Sonny who answered right away.

_"Sonny, I'm not going to join you."_

_"Oh, okay. I understand that."_

_"No, you don't understand. But I'll explain. Eddie has agreed to testify. I'm going to the D.A.'s office to tell him I'm recusing myself. And then I got one more thing to wrap up. I need to talk to Alex one last time. It's the only way I'm gonna put this whole thing behind me."_

_"I'm with you. Do you want me to come with you? I mean, just take you there and wait in the car or something."_

_"No, Sonny, that's nice. But... um... can I come over to your place tonight? I don't want to be home alone."_

_"No worries, on the contrary. You're welcome. I'll send you a message with my address."_

_"Thanks Sonny. I'll see you later."_

_"Good luck, Rafael. And remember, he's no better than you. You're a good person. Don't let him convince you otherwise."_

The young detective had hung up. The short call was enough to give Rafael the courage he needed to face what was to come.

He went to the prosecutor's office, explained the situation to him. The prosecutor, for once, was understanding and accepted his request for a recusal. He took all the administrative steps and then went to the precinct to inquire about the latest developments and to let Olivia and the rest of the squad know about his recusal. She seemed to accept it without any problem, just telling him he did the right thing. He even seemed to read approval in Amaro's eyes.

After Eddie's testimony, he learned that things were even worse than expected. Not only had Alex had affairs with all these women, but one of them was a minor. Rafael wondered how he could have known his childhood friend and ex-lover so badly. 

It was time to put an end to their relationship, whatever it was.

He decided to wait for him at the press conference that was to take place that evening.

He saw him come in with Yelina and his communications manager. Alex came up to him, surprised: "Rafael? I thought you were allergic to events like this?"

And Rafael said, "Can we talk in private? This can't wait."

"Just let me get my picture taken." Alex took Yelina by the waist and posed for the reporters, kissed her while looking at Rafael out of the corner of his eye. "I won't be long." 

Yelina watched them come out looking worried.

No sooner had they gotten outside that Alex said, "Whatever you have to show me, the only thing it's going to ruin is our friendship."

"Do you recognise these women?" Rafael said, showing him his cell phone. "The stripper, the porn star, you offered them a job."

"My office helps a lot of people," Alex replied. 

Rafael, couldn't believe that even when cornered, he found a way to lie so blatantly. 

"It gets complicated when they're too young to work like Jodie Lannier. She's still in high school. Now what are you gonna tell me? That you've never met her?"

Alex had the nerve to say, "We...she supported my campaign and she wanted to volunteer. We've never met."

"You guys have been texting each other."

"Yes, just like I do with hundreds of other voters."

Rafael got angry. "Alex, she's not a voter. She's only 15 years old."

"I had no way of knowing that," Alex said loudly.

"But it's obvious in these pictures! Pictures that YOU asked her to take! And even! The ones I have, they're the softest. She sent you others! Lots of them! That means that you have distributed and possessed naked pictures of a 15 year old minor. It's child pornography under the law."

Alex looked at him scornfully. "Where did you get these pictures? Eddie?"

"Eddie." Rafael confirmed. "He delivered money to every girl except the 15-year-old, you knew he wouldn't like it."

"Bastard. You're using Eddie to bring me down. You're exploiting his weakness."

Rafael didn't think it was possible to get any lower. "Who? Me?" 

"I didn't know Eddie would do that. Maybe he was trying to protect me."

Rafael replied ironically, showing he didn't believe a word of it. "Yeah, that's probably it." He took a deep breath. "We're here now."

After a pause.

"I've recused myself. They're going to open a special investigation immediately. If you suspend your campaign, it'll be easier for everyone."

"They made my oldest friend betray me. How much are they paying you to take me down?"

At that very moment, Rafael knew that for him Alex was nothing anymore. That the man who he had loved more than anything at one time and a faithful friend suspected him of such baseness, when he had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt to the end, made him realize that he had always put a higher price on their friendship than Alex. 

"This isn't a vendetta," he said shaking his head.

"Just six days before the election? No one will believe it," Alex said violently.

"I risked a lot to warn you of the consequences and you know it." 

"You want me to tell you what I know?" Alex was sweating disdain through every pore of his skin. "From the day you got that scholarship, you haven't let go of it. Do you think you became one of them because they invited you to go skiing, or on their yacht? As soon as they snap their fingers, you run like a doggy."

Rafael kept repeating Sonny's last words in his head like a mantra. ‘ _You're a good person_.’

"We're not talking about me now. And you know it." He says this looking Alex straight in the eye.

Alex fired his last round : "You know what Yelina thinks? She thinks you've always been jealous of me. Because you can't stand another Cuban in the lead. Because you think there's only one place at the top of the podium. And that if I'm the one who falls, it's for you. But let me tell you something. If you take me down, a lot of people are gonna be mad at you. You'll have to avoid certain corners and your political future will be ruined. You can trust me."

"Are you threatening me?" Rafael asked, feeling no fear. He knew that Alex was just trying to hold on to the branches and find a hold on him.

Alex put his hand on his shoulder: "I'm worried about your future, just like in the good old days."

Rafael felt nothing but disgust, and he snapped out of it. And without a glance back he left the conference venue. 

Once in the taxi, he could only look forward to finding Sonny. He had just closed a chapter in his story, it was extremely painful to be sure, but he was ready to start the next one. The taxi wasn't going fast enough and Rafael didn't hesitate to make the driver understand it in his own way.

At the bottom of Sonny's building, he rang the bell.

 _"I'll open up for you, third floor, back door as you get out of the lift,"_ said the voice on the intercom.

He entered the elevator, and tapped the third floor button several times. How could an elevator take so long...?

The elevator finally opened, he went straight to the said door which was open, knocked lightly, and entered the apartment. Sonny has his back turned to him, Rafael took one look at his appearance. The younger detective was barefoot, wearing jeans that had seen better days, but which deliciously moulded his long legs, and a black henley that fitted his silhouette perfectly. 

Sonny turned around and a smile - the smile that Rafael was becoming addicted to - lit up his face.

“Raf-”

Sonny didn't even have time to finish. Rafael approached him at lightning speed and took him in his arms and hugged him as if Sonny was the only foothold that kept him from falling. 

Although a little surprised, Sonny hugged Rafael in turn and gave him back his embrace.

After a few moments, they moved slightly apart. Sonny took Rafael's face in his hands and put a light kiss on his lips before moving back a little more. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, looking worriedly at Rafael.

"Much better than I thought," Rafael replied, with a sad look on his face but a smile that spoke volumes.

"Come, let's sit down and tell me." Sonny took his hand and they sat down on the sofa. They were next to each other and Sonny put his arm around Rafael's shoulders, and Rafael leaned even more against him. He was amazed that everything seemed so natural to him. As if things were in their place. It had been so long since he'd felt that way.

Sonny interrupted his thoughts, "Do you want to watch the press conference?"

Rafael, confident: "No, I know what he's gonna say, it won't be too different from what he said directly to me, just more watered down. He's a fighter, he thinks he still has a chance to win. I gave him a chance to get away with it, but he didn't take it."

"And how do you feel?" Sonny asked him again.

"Both disappointed and relieved to be done. When I was seven, my mom told me to stay friends with Alex, that he's gonna be mayor of New York one day. She never said that about me. And you know what, Sonny? For the first time it doesn't hurt me to think about it anymore. Because I'm where I want to be and I don't want to change that." 

Sonny just tightened his grip. Rafael continued.

"As Alex poured out all the disdain he felt for me, as I saw him for who he really was, what you said to me just before resonated in my head and I knew I was ready to really move on." 

Rafael turned his head to Sonny and looked at him in the eye.

"Thank you for having faith in me. You don't know how valuable your support has been through this whole thing. No one had ever offered me such trust. I hope I never let it down."

Sonny gave him back his look: "Rafael, you know I've always admired you, first as an attorney, and then as a man. But I want you to know that I have never put you on a pedestal. I like everything about you, the attorney and the man with his flaws and weaknesses. And I'm glad I could be there to support you." 

He added with a shy smile and full of promise. "And I hope it will be for a long time to come."

a"I'm sure it will, Sonny."

Rafael came closer and put his lips on his, sending everything he felt and could not yet say in his kiss. And Sonny in response opened his lips, responding in the same way to his kiss. They spent the rest of the evening like this. Silences interspersed with confession and kisses until Rafael fell asleep peacefully against Sonny. He woke up just slightly when Sonny straightened up a bit to cover him with a plaid and then settled down again against him. And when he closed his eyes he just heard Sonny saying in a soft voice as he hypnotically stroked his shoulder.

"Sleep Rafael, you've earned it. Tomorrow will be the first page of a new chapter full of promise."

And Rafael fell asleep under Sonny's kind eyes, a soothing smile on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again to SarahCake613 for her helpful beta reading.
> 
> xzael, I hope you'll enjoy it and it will meet your wish.  
> I always wanted to rewrite this episode with Sonny supporting Rafael. You gave me the possibility. Thank you !


End file.
